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  • I feel like my heart's racing.

  • Yeah, I literally can't even describe.

  • (upbeat music)

  • I'm Lauren.

  • I'm Lizz, and today, we're gonna step inside North Korea.

  • We just got to Seoul,

  • and we're about to get on this tour bus

  • that's gonna take us all the way to the Joint Security Area

  • and actually get to step inside North Korea.

  • North Korea has been in the political spotlight,

  • so I think getting to visit the border

  • is gonna be super eye-opening.

  • I just can't believe we're gonna go see this land

  • that, like, nobody gets to see, really.

  • And this is where we're getting picked up.

  • Everything's kind of confusing.

  • We have to find out where we're meeting our people.

  • I think we just maybe wait around here.

  • Do they just know we wanna go?

  • - 'Cause we look confused. - Yeah.

  • Your tour is this building.

  • [Lizz] We finally figure it out,

  • and we all end up getting on this bus.

  • There's our bus.

  • (light music)

  • So, our tour guide's name is Sky,

  • and she's hilarious.

  • I'm obsessed with her.

  • She said there might be a war at the end

  • because we have Americans, Japanese, and Chinese,

  • and if we speak too loudly, there's gonna be a war.

  • [Sky] Yeah, whispering only allowed.

  • Yeah?

  • If you interfere them, there's a chance,

  • end of the tour we could have a war.

  • So, right now, we're at the first stop,

  • which is the Peace Park.

  • There's all these ribbons all over this fence

  • that are written for wishes of peace.

  • (light music)

  • We just walked across the Freedom Bridge,

  • but there's a gate that stops you at this other end.

  • (light music)

  • - That's crazy. - Wow.

  • [Lauren] Wow.

  • (light bouncy music)

  • I'm in the middle of eating lunch,

  • and I notice that Lauren has been gone a really long time.

  • All of a sudden, I get a text from her that says,

  • "Come outside right now."

  • Because apparently there's puppies.

  • Oh my God!

  • [Lauren] I just want 'em to come to me.

  • - Wait, that's so cute. - Come to my arms!

  • I'm like, "Puppies, puppies!"

  • It was a nice little experience

  • before a very tense moment in our lives.

  • (dramatic music)

  • So, we get back on the bus

  • for about another 30 minutes, and they say,

  • "All right, we are arriving at the JSA."

  • Like, they're starting to get more and more intense.

  • (dramatic music)

  • As soon as we got to the first checkpoint,

  • they got really, really strict

  • about us not being able to take photos.

  • [Lauren] If we make some sudden movement

  • that the North Korean soldiers get offended by,

  • it's possible that we could be used

  • in propaganda video in North Korea.

  • [Lizz] And then they make us sign

  • this really intense waiver that says

  • they're not responsible for our death.

  • I'm honestly feeling pretty tense.

  • I'm like, "Was this a smart move?"

  • "I'm not so sure."

  • - This is crazy. - Are you recording?

  • [Lauren] Yeah, I am.

  • I can't believe we're looking at this right now.

  • It's so crazy in real life.

  • [Lauren] I was too scared to move my body too much,

  • and I'm just standing there thinking,

  • "Don't do anything dumb."

  • "Lauren, don't do anything dumb."

  • It's weird those other guards are facing the wall.

  • Literally, their faces are, like, in the wall like this.

  • That's very strange.

  • We only have one minute to take pictures.

  • So they're about to make us stop.

  • And we're whispering.

  • - We have to whisper. - I don't know why.

  • And they're really particular about where we can

  • and cannot film. - Alright, ladies, gentlemen,

  • we only have two minutes left!

  • - Two minutes left. - We have two minutes left!

  • It's so intense.

  • I feel like my heart's racing.

  • It's just crazy.

  • Yeah, I literally can't even describe.

  • We had to walk up in two lines like this.

  • I can't show that, sorry.

  • So, then it's time for all of us to file inside.

  • So we get, once again, in a single file line,

  • and we walk into the first, like, blue house that we see.

  • [Lauren] And the guard says

  • that everything is being monitored,

  • and it's under surveillance 24/7

  • by these little microphones that are on the desk.

  • [Lizz] What was crazy is that,

  • when we looked outside the window,

  • we actually saw the North and South Korean border.

  • That's the border.

  • Like, that's the border.

  • We're literally about to cross the border.

  • (dramatic music)

  • - Just did it. - We're now in North Korea.

  • Now in North Korea.

  • My mind is just totally blown.

  • I can't believe I'm actually here.

  • I've seen these houses in so many photos and documentaries.

  • So, we basically just walked back and forth

  • between South Korea for the three minutes

  • that we had time for.

  • Yeah, I'm like, "North Korea, South Korea."

  • "North Korea, South Korea." - That's what we did.

  • - That's the JSA Jig. - Yeah.

  • It's incredible actually getting to step foot inside

  • of a country that I've heard so much about

  • and you read so much about on the news,

  • and to actually be there and feel it

  • and feel that tension

  • is just like nothing I've ever experienced before.

  • It's just like a crazy thing to actually experience it,

  • and you really could feel the tension.

  • Now that it's done and we're coming back,

  • the guard is making jokes.

  • We're all super chill.

  • We're allowed to take photos where weren't before,

  • and it feels like we just kind of overcame something.

  • Yeah, I do feel like, "We made it there and back!"

  • - My heart is beating. - Yeah.

  • (upbeat music)

  • I'm afraid I'm gonna do something wrong.

  • At one point, I gave the thumbs up.

  • I was just like, "Oh no, my thumbs up

  • "is gonna start a world war."

I feel like my heart's racing.

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